Useful Info v1.1

Here is information collected from useful threads all in one place. Please don't post until the end. Credits include in no particular order: jammymacster, IamI3rian, Xydru, Razorium, obishawn, Cast_Supremacy, casimirney, LordTrinen and many other contributors and testers. This is a collaborative community effort.

Most values for Health Regeneration and Fortify enchants are the same for Stamina although you can equip the Dragon Priest Rahgot for an additional 70 stamina. Since Power Attacks and Bashing only require 1 stamina to activate it is unnecessary to have high regen unless you are wanting to run or use bow zoom. Options that can be used for repeated power attacks:

Magicka damage reduction is prioritized in the order of Absorption, Magicka Resistance, then Elemental Resistance

- 110 Magicka Resistance and Absorption

Magic attacks are most any non-physical attack and includes dragon breath, poison, fire, shouts, and disease as well as the fire, frost, and shock elemental spells.

Magicka Absorption acts first and is represented by a percentage to activate, not what percentage of damage is reduced. If the spell is absorbed, all of it is absorbed. Fortify Destruction potions taken prior to choosing the stone or the perk will increase the percentage, permanently in the case of the perk, and until a new stone is selected for the Atronach Stone. Magicka Absorption absorbs all summon spells (including summon shouts, but not Vampire or Werewolf summons) as well as the Shadow Warrior Perk. Magicka Absorption will also absorb almost 300 magicka/second from the Master Restoration spell Guardian Circle.

Any race, with no perks, can reach the 85% magicka resistance cap just by shopping around for magicka resist necklace, shield, or rings. Items begin at 10% (12%) at level 8 and increase to as much as 22% (27%) at level 48+. Any race can reach 70% resistance as early as level 8 or 80% with Lavender Dumplings (+10% for 60 seconds) and can hit the cap with items by level 24 by using the Lord Stone (25%) and Agent of Mara (15%). Of course Breton's have an innate 25% magicka reduction.

Elemental Resistance is factored last. Dunmer and Nords have Fire and Frost Resistance 50% respectively. Vampires have Frost Resistance values are dependent upon the stage of Vampirism and whether you have the DLC plug-in. Other found elements with resistances:Otar Dragon Priest Mask..........30% AllHelm of Yngol....................30% FrostNightingale Armor................20% Frost, 30% (level 19+), 50% (level 32+)Boots (Archmage's Quarters)......40% ShockAncient Helmet of the Unburned...40% Fire

Purchased boots also offer elemental resistance starting at 15 points at level 1, 30 points at level 8, and increases up to 70 at level 40+. By level 8 with the right equipment you can reduce a 100 point magicka attack to 6 for fire, 4 for frost, and 6 for shock...less with racial resistances. This is with no enchanting or perks.

- 120 Dealing Magic DamageThe skillful battlemage ensures that the enemy is already defeated before the battle begins.-The Art of War Magic

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#3theonyxphoenix(Topic Creator)Posted 11/21/2012 8:05:10 AM

- +10 to Fire Spells when taking the Illusion Perk Aspect of Terror. +15 if taken with Augment Flame 2/2- Repeatedly casting fire (and some restoration ) spells stacks the 10% burn damage- The Disintegrate perk effectively reduces all enemy health by 15%.- Fire Damage slightly edges out Shock for damage and costs less, but Shock also damages magicka.- Frost Damage is the most resisted/nullified element in Skyrim and shouldn't be focused on for damage alone.- Fortify Destruction Potions can increase damage up to 75% (5/5 Alchemist, Physician, Benefactor) 150% with 100% Alchemy Gear- Inflicting an enemy with poison (Weakness to Magic, Weakness to Element, Weakness to Element & Poison) can increase damage.- Stacking damage sources like summoned creatures + cloak/wall spells + destruction magic is the most effective.

- 130 Enchantments Values Per Perk/ Per Level I go to my death victorious, for I have done what no other enchanter in modern times has done.- Brarilu Theran

ABSORBHealth.............16:20:24:28:32:36:40Magicka*...........20:24:30:34:40:44:50Stamina*...........20:24:30:34:40:44:50There are two of these enchantments so it can be applied twice

DAMAGEFire...............10:24:30:34:40:44:50Frost..............10:24:30:34:40:44:50Huntsman...........03:06:08:10:12:12:14Magicka............15:36:44:52:60:66:74Shock..............10:24:30:34:40:44:50Silent Moon*.......10:24:30:34:40:44:50Stamina............15:36:44:52:60:66:74*Silent Moon is bugged and has no effect.

- 210 How Smithing WorksLooking to protect yourself or deal some damage?

Smithing enchantments and potions work to increase your base skill level. The list below shows what smithing skill value is required to reach each tier of improvement and what bonus are applied to the weapon/armor. For example if you have 87 skill and a 37% enchantment you will 119 skill (87*1.37).

- When attacking unarmed, moving the analog stick in different directions quickly can result in up to 3 attacks per swing, greatly increasing DPS. - If you equip two staves and remove the deequip the left hand staff it can result in allowing your left hand unarmed attacks to deal damage with no attack animation. This allows for rapid multiple attacks. This can also be done by equipping a staff in the right hand and a spell in the left, charging the spell, and deequipping it via the favorites menu

- 240 Armor

- 241 Smithing and Enchanting

With Enchanting, Smithing, and Armor perks it is extremely easy to hit the armor cap with any armor. Enchanting is required to hit the cap with armors that do not benefit from smithing perks.

Upon checking the chart this gives you an effective smithing skill up to Legendary8 (Ancient Knowledge adds a bonus to smithing, too). That is +46 per piece for perked armor and +24 for unperked items. You only need a base+smithing rating of 115 to reach the cap if you have 5/5 armor, custom fit, matching perk, and accumulated knowledge. Obviously any armor with a collective rating of 19 or greater hits the cap, even without a shield. Here are some found sets that don't benefit from smithing.

* Using Ebonyflesh you can reduce the need for up to 2 perks* The Lord Stone can eliminate the need for 1 perk

- 242 Fewest Perks

With Enchanting it is easy to hit the armor cap, but what about those who don't want to bother with all of the crafting skills? Well, any armor can reach the cap with just perks in Smithing. Here are different materials and the perks necessary to reach the cap. Those that are very close to the cap are indicated with the armor value.

Template: 100 smithing, 100 armor skill, Ancient Knowledge, Blacksmith's Elixir, Shield.*Ancient Falmer is available in Dawnguard and must include an Elven Helm and Shield since the set has no helm and shield of it's own, but is tempered using the Elven Smithing PerkMaterial: Smithing Perks: Armor Perks: Well/Custom Fit: Matching Set:Perks

* If removing the shield you will require 1 additional perk to hit the cap* Using Ebonyflesh you can reduce the need for up to 2 perks* The Lord Stone can eliminate the need for 1 perk

- 243 No Smithing

Now what if you don't want to be bothered with any crafting, including smithing? Well, there are two ways to go about it. Having high Conjuration to use the Atronach Forge...or, after level 27, buying Glass equipment or looting it from the Thalmor at Northwatch Keep. Ebony Boots are substituted for Daedric Boots because the Daedric Boots crafted at the forge are unusable by the player. Of course this includes Ancient Knowledge and 100 armor skill and shield.

What about if you don't care for traditional armor but want to focus on Alteration. Well the most you can achieve is 300 with Mage Armor 3/3 and Ebonyflesh unless you use the Master Spell Dragonhide which automatically sets the 80% resistance cap (but that's no fun). There are pieces of armor that you can equip that do not inhibit the Mage Armor perks from working. Those are:

After testing this is found to not be the case any longer (as of what patch is unknown since this hasn't been brought in to question until 1.7). The block cap is still 85% and reduces the damage that has already been reduced by armor damage reduction. All weapons (and torches) regardless of type or size block the same. Here are the blocking damage reduction for shields and weapons per perk investment in Shield Wall. Note: 100 Block Skill.

Shield no armor...47:52:54:58:62Weapons no armor. 44:49:53:57:61 Shield and armor. 45:50:52:56:63Weapons and armor 43:50:52:59:63

Now the final results are pretty much the same, but remember the first numbers are with no perks. It was assumed that with each perk in Shield Wall you would increase the damage resistance and that Daedric Shields and weapons could reach the cap with 4/5 in Shield Wall. As we can see that is not the case.

All weapons and shields block for 40% without perks. Each perk in Shield Wall acts as a Fortify Block +10% enchantment. As you can see you need around a 22-24% Fortify Block enchantment to reach the cap..

Weapons block just as well as shields but do not benefit from Arrow Deflection, Elemental Protection. Shield Charge can be used with a two-handed weapon, 1-handed weapon with shield, or 1-handed weapon with an empty left hand. With a shield you can press block and then begin running. With weapons you need to sprint first and then rapidly press block as you approach the enemy. The charge seems to work momentarily when you begin and stop blocking.

Another shield tidbit: sneak, hold down block, then sprint and you can sprint indefinitely when using a shield.

[300] THIEF

- 310 How Stealth WorksWalk always in shadows, so that you will see your foes before they see you.- Jensassa

Sneaking is affected by multiple variables including weight of armor, sound, movement, line of sight, ambient light, and whether the target has detected you before. Optimally, minimizing all of these effects provide the best opportunity for a sneak attack.

SoundCasting a spell, using a shout, and even moving causes noise. Although the Quiet Casting perk eliminates the sound completely for spells, it doesn't do so for all shouts (targeted shouts in particular). The noise you make as you move also incurs a penalty which is not affected by armor type and can be removed with muffle effects.

*The enchantment on Nightingale Boots is set dependant on the level of the player when they are obtained

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#8theonyxphoenix(Topic Creator)Posted 11/21/2012 8:14:43 AM

Line of Sight

Different enemies have different detection ratings and is expressed in physical distance. The higher the detection, the further away the target will notice you. Sneak skill reduces this penalty. A bug may occur where each skill point over 100 actually reduces skill effectiveness by 1 so 150 skill equals a 50 skill effectiveness. Besides the sneak perks and enchanted/purchased items there are a few unique items with Fortify Sneak:

This penalty can also be eliminated by using the spell Invisibility, Invisibility Potions, Shadowcloak of the Nocturnal, and the Shadow Warrior Perk.

Ambient Light

It is harder to sneak up on someone in daylight than from shadows. Daylight, lantern, and torchlight incur a penalty to sneaking which can only be eliminated by avoiding those things. Light from casting and charging spells does not affect detection. The only way to avoid this penalty is to stay in the shadows. Sneak attacks in light are not impossible, but does require proficiency in reducing all other sneak penalties.

- 320 Trading, Fortify Speechcraft, and Fortify BarterDon't think you can barter with me like I'm one of those damned shopkeepers.

Fortify Speechcraft and Fortify Barter are synonymous. Fortify Speechcraft has a cap whereas Fortify Barter does not. Speechcraft just adds to your speech skill and is capped at 100. Fortify Barter acts as a multiplier and is much more beneficial. There are ways too boost these to hit the trading cap of 95% (i.e. selling an item gets you 95% return on the value)

Boosting SpeechcraftBlessing of Dibella.+10Gift of Charity.....+10Amulet of Dibella...+15

0 skill/no perks, the final price factor is .......................3.30 skill/no perks with all Fortify Persuasion buffs.................2.8450 skill/no perks with with Blessing of Dibella and Gift of Charity 3.04100 skill/no perks, the final price factor is......................2.00100 skill/all perks the final price factor is......................1.42857

- 330 Rare Apothecary Satchel Locations I have traveled extensively throughout this land, and here are but a few of my findings.- Herbalist's Guide to Skyrim

Most alchemy items can be purchased from a merchant. Some more items are added to their inventory when you take the Merchant Perk. Human Flesh and Human Heart can only be found. Here is a list of all the known (so far) rare satchel locations. They will always contain 3 items, one of which is categorized as rare. The rare ingredients are: